Flat display panel and assembly process or driver components in flat display panel

ABSTRACT

A flat display panel comprises a plurality of driver ICs and one or more flexible printed circuit, a plurality of common wires formed on the substrate to electrically connect the ICs to the one or more flexible printed circuit, and at least one anisotropic conductive film that connects respective connecting terminals of the driver ICs and flexible printed circuit to terminals pads of the common wires. The anisotropic conductive film is laminated over the substrate to cover the terminal pads. The driver ICs and flexible printed circuit are aligned and attached on the anisotropic conductive layer by thermocompression bonding.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention generally relates to the field of flat display panel manufacture, and more particularly to the interconnection structure and the assembly process of driver components in flat display panels such as liquid crystal display (LCD) panels.

2. Description of the Related Art

The construction of flat display panels such as LCDs generally includes pixel cells arranged in array and driven by means of driver components placed at the peripheral area of the display area. The driver components are conventionally operable to output addressing and data image signals to the pixel cells to control the illumination or extinction for achieving image displaying.

The driver components conventionally include scan driver integrated circuits (ICs) and data driver ICs along two peripheral sides of the display panel. Flexible printed circuits are coupled with the scan and data driver ICs to provide signals such as power, display or ground signals. Many technical approaches are known in the art to assemble the driver components on the LCD panel.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,111 issued to Nagata et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a liquid crystal panel in which the driver ICs are embedded on tape carrier packages distributed along the periphery of the display panel. The driver ICs electrically connect via the wiring of the tape carrier packages to wires that couple the driver ICs to a circuit substrate located at a corner of the display panel.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,624,868 issued to Terukina et al., the disclosure of which is also incorporated herein by reference, describes a LCD panel structure in which the driver ICs are mounted on the glass substrate. This reference discloses a structure including wire interconnections that a flexible printed circuit is coupled with a common wiring through a connector at an area between two ICs.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2001/0015709 to Imajo et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a mounting scheme in which the driver ICs are directly mounted on the glass substrate of the LCD panel. Various signals including power signals are supplied to the driver ICs terminals of a flexible printed circuit connected at an outer side of the driver ICs. The flexible printed circuit can also include a protruding portion in an area between two driver ICs. The protruding portion can be provided with a chip capacitor connected with terminals of the flexible printed circuit.

Improvements could be made to the aforementioned assembly schemes of driver components. In particular, the conventional interconnection of the flexible printed circuit with the driver ICs is usually achieved via a complex connector structure or via at least two anisotropic conductive layers respectively attaching the ICs and flexible printed circuit on the substrate. None of these techniques is economically desirable.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for a flat display panel implementation and an assembly process that can reduce the manufacture cost and the processing time in the assembly of driver components in the flat display panel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an electrical connection structure and an assembly process that can reduce the material cost and processing time in the assembly of driver components in a flat display panel.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a flat display panel comprises a plurality of driver ICs and one or more flexible printed circuits assembled on a substrate, a plurality of common wires formed on the substrate to electrically connect the ICs to the one or more flexible printed circuit, and one anisotropic conductive film that connects the driver ICs and flexible printed circuits to the common wires.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the one or more flexible printed circuit includes an extending portion overlapping with one or more common wire, the second bonding pads being located in an area of the extending portion. In a variant embodiment, the extending portion of the one or more flexible printed circuit is located in an area between two ICs.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an assembly process of driver components in a flat display panel is described. The anisotropic conductive film is formed over a bonding area of the substrate. The driver ICs and the flexible printed circuit are aligned over the substrate relative to the common wires. An extending portion of the flexible printed circuit is aligned to overlap with one or more common wire. The driver ICs and the flexible printed circuit then are pressed against the substrate while the anisotropic conductive film is heated.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the anisotropic conductive film is laminated as a continuous layer connecting the ICs and flexible printed circuit to the flexible printed circuits. In a variant embodiment, the ICs include data driver ICs of a LCD panel. In other variations, the ICs include scan driver ICs of the LCD panel.

The foregoing is a summary and shall not be construed to limit the scope of the claims. The operations and structures disclosed herein may be implemented in a number of ways, and such changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention and its broader aspects. Other aspects, inventive features, and advantages of the invention, as defined solely by the claims, are described in the non-limiting detailed description set forth below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a planar view of an connection structure of driver components in a LCD panel according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along section 1B in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2A and 2B are schematic views of modules of flexible printed circuit according to various examples of the invention; and

FIG. 3A˜3D are schematic views of an assembly process of driver components in the manufacture of a LCD panel according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)

The present invention describes an electrical connection structure and an assembly process that can reduce the material cost and processing time in the assembly of driver components in a flat display panel. In exemplary implementations, the following description depicts embodiments in which the flat display panel is a LCD panel. However, the structure and assembly process of the invention are intended to be generally suitable with any types of displays such as electroluminescent displays, plasma displays or the like.

FIG. 1A is a schematic view illustrating the connection scheme of driver components in a LCD panel according to an embodiment of the invention. In a peripheral non-display area 302 of the LCD panel are a plurality of driver ICs 320. The driver ICs 320 couple via wiring lines 322 to pixel elements (not shown) located in the display area. The driver ICs 320 can be scan driver ICs or data driver ICs configured to deliver either addressing or image data signals to the pixels for image display.

As illustrated, common wires 330 are provided to connect the driver ICs 320 to a flexible printed circuit 340. The flexible printed circuit 340 includes at least one extending portion 342 in an area of the LCD panel between two neighboring driver ICs 320. The extending portion 342 overlaps with one or more common wiring lines 330 to which the flexible printed circuit 340 is connected.

FIG. 1B is a schematic view taken along section 1B-1B in FIG. 1A. The common wires 330 are patterned on a transparent substrate 304 of the LCD panel. A passivation layer 306 made of an insulating material is formed over the substrate 340 and includes openings exposing portions of the common wires 330. Contact layers 308 made of conductive materials are formed through the openings to connect with the common wires 330, thereby forming terminal pads 332 of the common wires 330.

An anisotropic conductive film 350 connects first connecting terminals 324 of the driver ICs 320 and second connecting terminals 344 provided in the extending portion 342 of the flexible printed circuit 340 to the common wires 330. Conductive particles 352 of the anisotropic conductive film 350 form conductive paths that electrically connect the first and second connecting terminals 324, 344 to the terminal pads 332 of the common wires 330.

In one embodiment, the extending portion 342 of the flexible printed circuit 340 can be configured to overlap common wires 330 for delivering power and ground voltages to the driver ICs 320. However, it is understood that the extending portion of the flexible printed circuit can overlap more common wires should more signal connections be needed between the flexible printed circuit and the driver ICs. As electrical signals are delivered from terminals in areas between the driver ICs, shorter signal paths are provided to prevent signal loss and the assembly space required for the flexible printed circuit can be favorably reduced.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A and 2B, the assembly of the flexible printed circuit in overlap with the common wires can favorably allow its modularization. As shown in FIG. 2A, U-shaped modules 440 of flexible printed circuit can be successively coupled with common wires 430 in areas between the driver ICs 420. In FIG. 2B, flexible printed circuits 540 of generally rectangular shapes can be coupled via the anisotropic conductive film with common wires 530 at spaced intervals along the common wires 530. The modularization of the flexible printed circuit into separate modules can favorably reduce its cost and optimize its occupation space in assembly.

FIG. 3A˜3D are schematic views of a process of mounting a flexible printed circuit and driver ICs on a LCD panel according to an embodiment of the invention. For purposes of illustration, in the present example, various steps are described in a particular order. However, when needed for specific configurations, these steps can be performed in orders different from the present embodiment.

In FIG. 3A, an anisotropic conductive film 650 is laminated over a bonding area of the LCD panel. The bonding area can correspond to a non-display area on a substrate 604 of the LCD panel where a flexible printed circuit and driver ICs are to be mounted. The bonding area covered by the anisotropic conductive film 650 includes terminal pads 632 of common wires 630 patterned on the substrate 604. The terminal pads 632 can be formed by contact layers 608 that connect with portions of the common wires 630 exposed through an insulating layer 606.

In FIG. 3B, driver ICs 620 and a flexible printed circuit 640 are aligned over the substrate 604 so that their respective connecting terminals 624 and 644 approximately faces the terminal pads 632 of the common wires 630. As shown in the planar view of FIG. 3C, the flexible printed circuit 640 is particularly placed so that an extending portion 642 overlaps with a portion of one or more common wire 630 in an area between two driver ICs 620. The connecting terminals 644 of the flexible printed circuit 640 are located in an area of its extending portion 642.

In FIG. 3D, the driver ICs 620 and extending portion 642 of flexible printed circuit 640 are pressed against the substrate 604 while the anisotropic conductive film 650 is heated. The applied pressure can be approximately between 10 to 20 Kg/cm². If the anisotropic conductive film 650 is made of a thermosetting resin, the heating temperature can be about 180° C. to 190° C. If it is made of a thermoplastic material, the anisotropic conductive film 650 is heated and subsequently cooled to harden. The anisotropic conductive film 650 thereby attaches the driver ICs 620 and flexible printed circuit 640 on the substrate 604, and conductive particles 652 in the anisotropic conductive film 650 form conductive paths that electrically connect the connecting terminals 624, 644 of the driver ICs to the terminal pads 632 of the common wires 630.

The above-described connection scheme can be particularly implemented to assemble driver ICs and flexible printed circuits via a single anisotropic conductive film along one side of the LCD panel. Since a single anisotropic conductive film is used, the driver ICs and the flexible printed circuits can be assembled in the same time. As a result, the material cost and the processing time can be favorably reduced.

Diverse variations of the invention as described above can be implemented. In a variant example, the anisotropic conductive film can include separate portions locally dispensed at the target areas instead of being formed of a continuous layer.

Realizations in accordance with the present invention therefore have been described in the context of particular embodiments. These embodiments are meant to be illustrative and not limiting. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements are possible. Accordingly, plural instances may be provided for components described herein as a single instance. Additionally, structures and functionality presented as discrete components in the exemplary configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements may fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims that follow. 

1. A flat display panel comprising: a substrate; a plurality of common wires formed on the substrate; an anisotropic conductive material electrically connecting the common wires; a plurality of ICs disposed on the anisotropic conductive material; and one or more flexible printed circuits electrically connecting to the anisotropic conductive material.
 2. The flat display panel according to claim 1, wherein the one or more flexible printed circuit overlaps with one or more common wires.
 3. The flat display panel according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of common wires further have a plurality of terminal pads electrically connecting to the anisotropic conductive material.
 4. The flat display panel according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ICs further have a plurality of terminals electrically connecting to the anisotropic conductive material.
 5. The flat display panel according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the one or more flexible printed circuits further have a plurality of terminals electrically connecting to the anisotropic conductive material.
 6. The flat display panel according to claim 1, wherein the common wires are covered with a passivation layer.
 7. The flat display panel according to claim 1, wherein the ICs are scan drivers.
 8. The flat display panel according to claim 1, wherein the ICs are data drivers.
 9. The flat display panel according to claim 1, wherein the one or more flexible printed circuits include a plurality of portions respectively bonded to the anisotropic conductive material at spaced intervals along the common wires.
 10. The flat display panel according to claim 1, wherein the anisotropic conductive material is an anisotropic conductive film.
 11. The flat display panel according to claim 1, wherein the anisotropic conductive material is formed as a single layer.
 12. The flat display panel according to claim 1, wherein the anisotropic conductive material is laminated as a continuous layer.
 13. A flat display panel comprising: a substrate; a plurality of common wires formed on the substrate, wherein the common wires have a plurality of terminal pads; a plurality of ICs having a plurality of first connecting terminals; one or more flexible printed circuits respectively including a plurality of second connecting terminals and an extending portion overlapping one or more common wires; and an anisotropic conductive material electrically connecting the first connecting terminals of the chips and the second connecting terminals of the one or more flexible printed circuits to the terminal pads of the common wires.
 14. The flat display panel according to claim 13, wherein the second connecting terminals of the one or more flexible printed circuit are located in an area of the extending portion substantially facing the terminal pads of the common wires.
 15. The flat display panel according to claim 13, wherein the anisotropic conductive material is formed as a single layer.
 16. The flat display panel according to claim 13, wherein the anisotropic conductive material is laminated as a continuous layer.
 17. The flat display panel according to claim 13, wherein the ICs include scan drivers.
 18. The flat display panel according to claim 13, wherein the ICs include data drivers.
 19. The flat display panel according to claim 13, wherein the common wires are covered with a passivation layer.
 20. The flat display panel according to claim 19, wherein at least one terminal pad is connected to one common wire through an opening of the passivation layer.
 21. The flat display panel according to claim 13, wherein the one or more flexible printed circuits include a plurality of flexible printed circuits respectively bonded to the anisotropic conductive film at spaced intervals along the common wires.
 22. An assembly process comprising: providing a substrate having a plurality of common wires; forming an anisotropic conductive material covering the common wires; aligning a plurality of ICs over the anisotropic conductive material; aligning one or more flexible printed circuit relative to the common wires, wherein the one or more flexible printed circuits aligned to overlap with one or more common wires; and pressing the ICs and the one or more flexible printed circuits against the substrate while heating the anisotropic conductive material to electrically connect the ICs and the one or more flexible printed circuits to the common wires.
 23. The process according to claim 22, wherein forming an anisotropic conductive material includes laminating a single layer of anisotropic conductive material.
 24. The process according to claim 22, wherein forming an anisotropic conductive material includes laminating a continuous layer of anisotropic conductive material.
 25. The process according to claim 22, wherein the ICs include scan drivers.
 26. The process according to claim 22, wherein the ICs include data drivers.
 27. The process according to claim 22, wherein aligning one or more flexible printed circuit relative to the common wires comprises aligning a plurality of flexible printed circuits relative to the common wires at spaced intervals along the common wires. 